Daedal Dragon
by iyfanatic
Summary: [AU, KaiTakao, TyKa] Takao is not as average as everyone thinks. He has a past, a rather tragic one, that no one knows about. With the arrival of a strange package, the team finds out that his mom was murdered, and that Takao might be next...
1. Chapter 1

IY: Whoo! My first Beyblade fic!

Kit: Yeah, you break onto the scene once everyone's already left it... Idiot.

IY: Whatever. -raspberry-

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(I am on strike with the page breaks, just so you know)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Beyblade! (Although I wish I did.)

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**Warning:** I'm only putting this up the first chapter (which is this one, obviously): **Shounen ai** ahead! Also known as **Yaoi, Boy's Love,** and** Slash** of the **KaiTakao** variety! (Maybe MaRe later...)

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**And also:** AU, meaning Alternate Universe!

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"Mommy! Mommy! What's wrong, mommy?"

Five-year-old Takao didn't know what to do. He entered the family room after he got home from school to find his mommy bleeding- a lot. There was a big puddle all around her on the carpet. Should he get her a band-aid? His mommy always put a bandage on his boo-boos.

"I'm gonna go get ya a band-aid, mommy! Stay here, okay?"

The little blue-haired child stood from his kneeling position, ready to bolt to the kitchen for the bandage.

"No, Takao. Stay."

The soft whisper that originated from his mother's bloodied lips stalled him. He knelt back down, putting his face right above his mother's, looking into her hazy eyes.

"Mommy? What's wrong? Why are ya bleeding?"

His mother, Ayumi, shook her head weakly.

"No, baby, listen. I need you to go get my phone, okay? Call your daddy. Tell him -" she broke off, hacking until a bit of blood flowed from her mouth. She gasped for breath, then continued. "T-tell him… it was… the… Kielbasa…" 1

With one final heaving gasp, her body went slack and her eyes slid closed.

"M-mommy? Mommy? _Mommy_! Wake up, mommy!" Takao sobbed, trying to shake his mother awake. "D-don't leave me alone, mommy!"

When he saw that Ayumi wasn't responding, he cried harder and backed away from her body. He curled up against the side of the couch and shook his head.

"N-no! _No_! My mommy's not dead! She's _not_! Mommy's just… She's just sleeping!" Takao sobbed brokenly, shaking like a leaf. "J-just sleeping…"

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"Takao. Are you okay?"

Takao's small blue-haired head rose, his eyes looking up from the ground to look at his elder brother.

"Hiro…"

He looked the same as he did the last time Takao saw him, which was… A year ago? Maybe more…

"What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be packing."

Takao's head tilted back down. Should he answer? Hiro probably wouldn't understand, even if he did…

"Aren't you going to answer me?" Hiro asked, frowning. "You know, this game is getting pretty old, Takao. You're going to have to talk to us eventually."

"My birthday…"

Hiro blinked. "What was that? You've got to talk louder, Takao. I don't have super-hearing, you know."

"Mommy was going to have my birthday party right here… We were going to invite everyone from my class, and we'd all have cake and cookies, and play games, and open presents, and have lots of fun… But now mommy's gone, and my birthday was three days ago…" Takao sniffed, wiping at his eyes with his fists.

Hiro's face softened. His little brother was in pain, and here he was getting mad at him. Of course Takao wouldn't want to pack up all his things. It would only confirm the fact that their mother was gone, and that he'd have to leave everything he knew behind…

"Takao…" Hiro started, floundering around for the perfect words to express what he wanted to say. "I know this must be hard for you, since mom was the one that raised you since the divorce and all… But… You've got to let her go. She wouldn't want you to be sad like this."

Takao looked away, towards the small pond that was near the edge of their property.

"Mom always said that you looked cutest when you smiled, back when you were smaller. You probably don't remember, but I do. She would sing you to sleep, and when you smiled at her she would always laugh and say you were the cutest thing she'd ever seen." Hiro laughed softly, ruffling Takao's hair. "I actually got jealous a few times."

That made the small boy crack a smile. "Really?"

Hiro nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if _you_ were the cutest thing she'd ever seen, what was I? Chopped liver?"

Takao made a face, and Hiro laughed. "Exactly. Now you get where I'm coming from, right?"

Takao nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I guess I do." The blue-haired boy sighed, giving the back yard one final glance.

"I'm going to go pack. Thanks, Hiro."

"No problem, little bro." Hiro watched as Takao walked into his deceased mother's house through the kitchen's sliding door.

Once the small boy was out of sight, Hiro turned back to the scenic grounds. "Oh, Takao…" he sighed. "Why did you have to go through this?"

"You know why."

Hiro jumped, turning to face the newcomer. "Dad…"

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1. Kielbasa is a Polish sausage… Yeah, that's stupid, I know. But it _sounds_ dangerous…

And, just so you know, the next chapters won't be so short. This is like a prologue type of thing... Yeah.


	2. Chapter 2

IY: Kya! People like it!

Kit: Wow...

IY: I know! I love all of you who reviewed! -hearts- Here's the next chapter for ya!

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Thanks to: **misty144, crystalbladedragon, glitteredvixen06, horsegirl, **and **cheats** (I'm glad I saved you. XD)!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own!

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"Kinomiya! Hurry up, practice started ten minutes ago! The others are already downstairs, training, as you should be." Kai called out, leaning against the wall opposite Takao's door. He knew that his voice could be heard clearly through the wood, so it was now only a matter of waiting.

"Whatever, Kai! I'm going as fast as I can!" Takao yelled out. His voice sounded slightly muffled, which caused Kai to picture the blue-haired blader with his shirt pulled over his head.

The two-tone haired teen suddenly had a light sprinkling of pink over his fair cheeks and nose. _Damn hormones…_ Kai thought angrily. For the past few months he'd been having strange thoughts about his blue-haired teammate, but he ignored them as best he could.

Just as he'd gotten his facial coloring under control, Takao burst out of his room. "Okay, I'm ready!"

Kai rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough, Kinomiya. I should start dumping water over your head ten minutes _before_ practice starts, since it takes you so long to change…"

Takao pouted.

_Don't look…_ Kai thought and quickly moved his gaze away.

"Or you could just shake me awake, or something. I mean, I could get sick one of these days, you know. And then where would you be, huh, Kai?"

The Russian blader sighed. "We'd be just fine, Kinomiya. You're a _part_ of the team, not the bulk of it."

"But Kaaaiii! The water's always so cold!" Takao whined.

Kai snorted, completely unsympathetic. "Then you should wake up on time for practice, shouldn't you?"

Takao pouted and lagged behind, following Kai down the stairs half-heartedly.

"Oh, you have mail, Kinomiya." Kai informed him, rolling his eyes when he saw Takao perk up. "I put it on the little table in the hallway. Read it on the way outside, we don't have time to waste."

Takao sighed. There went his excuse to put off training for a few more minutes… He picked up the whole pile, following Kai obediently to the back yard.

Once they the back porch, though, Takao sat down. "Go ahead, Kai. I need to check the mail. I can't really read while I'm beybattling, you know?" he said innocently.

Kai frowned but let it go. It wasn't worth the bother to fight with Takao this early in the morning…

Takao let out a deep breath when Kai moved away. _For a second there I thought he wasn't gonna buy it…_ Takao thought with an inward laugh.

"Okay…" he said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get started…"

The first letter was for his grandpa, so he put that on the left. The second was a bill- left. The third was a cable offer, meaning junk, so he put that on the right. The fourth was another bill- left. The fifth was for him- middle. The sixth was junk- right. The last one was a small box with a letter attached, for him as well- middle.

"Man, I didn't know we got this much mail…" Takao said, looking over the piles. "And on a Monday, too…"

Shaking his head, Takao tore into his first letter.

_Dear Takao-chan,_

_I saw your last match, and I was, like, Wow! You were so, so, so good! You were, like, the best one there! I mean, like, of course you were! You're the world champion! Like, oh my god, how dumb of me!_

_Anyway, you looked, like, super hott while you were beating everyone! So, I was, like, wondering if you'd go out with me sometime? You know, like, on a date? It would be, like, awesome!_

_If you'd like to, give me a call at…_

The letter went on to give all of the girl's contact information: phone number, address, email address, even her parents' work phones!

"Man, how did this girl get my address? Usually they send their letters to the BBA headquarters…"

Shrugging it off, Takao turned to his next letter. Looking it over, he thought it was kind of short… He could probably read it before Kai came over to drag him to the beydish.

_Dear Takao,_

_We hope you like your sixteenth birthday present. It's in the box._

_We know your birthday is still a few weeks away, but we wanted to give it to you early._

_Go ahead, take a peek._

Takao blinked. He didn't recognize the writing… Maybe it was another fan?

He tore into the cardboard box, finding another one inside. This one was made of wood, however, and was finely decorated. Taking it out of the shipping package, Takao looked it over.

"Seems expensive…"

The front of the box had a small latch, which he quickly released. Opening the cover, Takao found a beautiful dagger, encrusted with small sapphires on the hilt.

"Wow… So pretty…"

He took the dagger out of the box, turning it around and around in his hands. When the sunlight hit the jewels, they glowed with a blue fire.

"Amazing…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another piece of paper. It was folded into a small square, tucked into a corner of the box, almost hidden by the soft blue velvet that lined the wood.

"Hmm… It's another letter," he said, unfolding it.

_Do you like it?_

_It's pretty, isn't it?_

_It's the one we used to kill your mother._

_-Kielbasa_

"Oh my god…" Takao breathed, eyes going incredibly wide. "The Kielbasa…"

His gaze turned to the dagger in his hands.

"They used this to kill my mom…"

Takao started shaking uncontrollably.

"They used _this_ to kill my mommy…"

Takao sobbed, tears blurring his vision.

"OH MY GOD!"

The rest of the Bladebreakers turned around in time to see Takao throw the dagger away as if burned.

Kai was the first to move towards the blue-haired teen's slumped and shaking form.

"Kinomiya? Kinomiya, what's wrong?"

Takao said nothing; he merely curled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the crook that was formed, sobbing hysterically.

Kai shook his head when the other teen wouldn't respond. "Takao, what's wrong?" he asked, laying a gentle hand on the bluenette's shoulder.

Takao moved away as if struck, gasping.

Kai blinked. _What is going on here?_

Takao, who had his back against the wall, looked up hazily at his captain. "Kai?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's me, Takao. What's going on? What's wrong?"

"The Kielbasa, they…" Takao broke off, sobbing.

Kai looked at the rest of the team, who were huddled behind him. They all shrugged; none of them had any idea what was going on either.

"Maybe there was something in one of those letters," Kyouju suggested, motioning to the papers strewn over the floor.

The Russian teen sighed, _Why didn't I think of that?_

"Max, Rei, look through the letters, find the ones for Kinomiya. Kyouju, go get that dagger. Daichi, help me prop him up against the wall. Tachibana… Go get him some water or something…" Kai ordered.

The team nodded, each heading off to do their appointed task. Kyouju and Hilary returned at the same time.

"Here," Kyouju said, gasping in exertion, handing the dagger over to Kai.

Hilary ignored Kai in favor of pressing a glass full of water into Takao's shaking hands. "Take it, Takao. It'll help you calm down," she said soothingly.

The blue-haired teen nodded, and with Hilary's help, gulped down the water.

"Kai!" Max cried out, returning to the group with his arms full of wrapping paper and a box. Rei was in a similar state, carrying all the letters that had been swept away by the wind.

"Look at this! It's creepy!" Max said, handing over the letters.

Kai read them out loud, and by the time he finished, Kyouju and Hilary's eyes were wide.

"Y-you mean, those Kielbasa guys used that dagger to kill Takao's mom?" Hilary asked, looking at the small blade with revulsion.

"Looks that way, Tachibana," Kai answered, looking a little disturbed.

"I never knew his mom had been killed…" Max whispered.

"Me either." Kyouju answered sorrowfully.

The team's eyes were drawn towards Takao's form, only to find him sleeping against the wall, still curled up in the fetal position.

"Seems there's a lot we don't know about Takao…" Rei said, expressing what was on everyone's minds.

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And there you have it. Chapter two, complete!

Review now, yeah?


	3. Chapter 3

IY: New chap!

Kit: So start reading.

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Thanks to: **misty144, cheats, crystalbladedragon, **and** horsegirl!**

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own!

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"Erg…" Takao yawned, wiping the grit away from his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear them further and then turned his gaze to his bedside stand. His alarm clock read 4:38 p.m.

"That can't be right… It's Monday, we have training. Kai would never cancel training…" He sat up, brow furrowed. "What's going on?"

A knock interrupted his thoughts. "T-man? Are ya up? Kai-dude said he heard noise from up in here."

"Eh? Yeah, I'm awake, Grandpa! Come on in!" Takao called out, slipping out from under the covers. He blinked when he found himself dressed already.

"Hey, T-man! How ya feeling?" the elder Kinomiya asked, sitting next to his grandson.

"I'm fine, Grandpa!" Takao said, tilting his head in a questioning manner. "Why do you ask?"

"Don't ya remember what happened, T-man? Kai-dude told me everything once I got home! We were all worried about ya, little dude!"

Takao blinked, honestly confused. "Have you finally gone senile, old man?"

"Oh, ya forgot! It musta been too traumatizing for ya!" Grandpa Ryo said, heading to the door. "Don't ya worry, T-man! We'll fix ya up!"

The blue-haired teen stayed sitting there for a few minutes, just blinking at the door. He only snapped out of it when his team captain entered the room and closed the door behind himself.

"Hey, Kai! Grandpa's acting weird… I think he finally lost it!" Takao said, frowning pensively.

Kai looked him over. "I think you're the one who's lost it, Kinomiya. Don't you remember what happened earlier?"

Judging from the blank look on Takao's face, Kai guessed not. Sighing, the Russian blader sat down on the other teen's bed.

"Does the name 'Kielbasa' mean anything to you, Kinomiya?" he asked, gaze pinned to Takao's face, waiting for a reaction.

And boy, did he get a reaction…

At the mere _mention_ of the name 'Kielbasa' Takao's face blanched of all color, his eyes went wide, and he scooted all the way back until he hit the headboard.

"I'm guessing it does…" Kai stated blandly.

"Eh, w-why are you asking about them?" Takao asked shakily.

"You received a package from them earlier… A dagger. It came with a note." Kai looked away, frowning. "The note said that they used that dagger to… to kill your mother. Is that true?"

Kai looked back to find Takao shaking his head frantically.

"No… No… She's not…"

The Russian blader blinked. "Kinomiya? Are you okay?"

The blue-haired blader continued to mutter indecipherably, breathing so shallowly that he started to hyperventilate.

"Kinomiya! Snap out of it! Kinomiya, listen to me! Kino- _Takao_! Stop! You're going to-" Kai stopped, catching the younger blader when his body slumped forward limply. "You're going to faint…"

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"Okay," the Bladebreakers' team captain stated, pacing back and forth across the living room. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaled loudly, then continued, "Now we know that mentioning the Kielbasa and his mother are bad ideas."

"No, _really_, Kai? We totally hadn't noticed!" Hilary replied, sarcasm practically dripping off her words. "He just _fainted_ twice in one day!"

"Shut it, Tachibana," Kai snapped. "We don't need your caustic little comments. I was merely stating the facts so that we could figure out a way to get some information without directly mentioning those topics."

Kyouju looked at the sparks flying from his friends' clashing eyes and gulped. He did _not_ like confrontations…

"Eh, Kai?" He spoke up timidly, a little afraid of drawing the dual-haired teen's attention when he was so volatile. "Why don't we just ask his father about what happened?"

"No dice, Kyouju. Takao's dad is never home, remember? He's always off on those archeological digs," Rei replied quickly, wanting to contribute to the conversation.

"Yeah, that's right!" their blond teammate cried out. "He's always gone!"

"Aw, man!" Daichi moped. "There goes our best source for information."

"Guys, why don't we just ask Grandpa?" Hilary asked, looking at them all like they were idiots, especially Kai.

"You finally said something _helpful_, Tachibana." Kai replied scathingly, glaring right back at her.

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"Aw, little dudes…" Grandpa Ryo said, shaking his head, "This is a really sore topic in da family…"

Kai, leaning against the wall in his usual reclining position, nodded his head. "I understand that, but we really need to know what's going on so that we can help Takao."

The old man sighed, slumping forward in his seat. He proceeded to put his elbows on the kitchen table and then hide his face in his hands. After taking a deep breath, he straightened up and faced them, shoulders stiff with tension.

"Okay, I'll tell ya…" The team cheered and he quieted them down.

"It all started when my son met Ayumi, little T-man's momma. She was very beautiful, sweet and charming- everything I ever hoped for my son. They dated, they got along well, they got married, and they were happy…"

Ryo shook his head sadly. "At least, at first… After Takao was born, they started arguing. Takao showed signs of… Well, I can't really tell ya, since I haven't even told T-man yet, but they were signs of a special _trait_ that was known to run in Ayumi's family.

"Ayumi started focusing on little Takao, leaving Hiro for my son to deal with. She put Takao in a special _school_, I guess you could call it, as soon as he could walk. Everything finally got to the point to where my son couldn't stand it anymore. He said that if Ayumi was going to ignore him and Hiro, that they might as well leave…"

Takao's grandfather sniffed. "They got a divorce when Takao was two… I didn't see my little guy for almost four years…"

Hilary, who was seated in the chair next to him, reached over to pat his shoulder gently.

"Thanks… Anyway, my son and Hiro moved back here, since he and Ayumi had moved to America after they got married. Eventually, we learned to get on with our lives…" the old man said sadly, shrugging.

"One day, my son got a call. It was little Takao…" Grandpa Ryo looked down at the tabletop, unable to hide his tears. "He was hysterical; he just kept crying and crying. It took us a long time to calm him down enough so that he could tell us what was wrong…

"He said… He said, 'Mommy's asleep and I can't wake her up. She told me to call you, daddy!'" The elder Kinomiya broke off his story to wipe his eyes, choking out a sob. "It damn near broke my heart to hear that…

"That same day we flew over, and we went through a long process of investigation to find out who murdered Ayumi. When asked, all Takao would say was, 'It was the Kielbasa.' He said it over and over again, but then he just stopped talking altogether. He kept silent for _weeks_.

"The first time he spoke again was on the day we left America, telling Hiro about the birthday party Ayumi had planned for him. We had forgotten all about his sixth birthday with all of the funeral preparations we'd been doing…"

Grandpa Ryo shook his head. "Every time we tried to talk to Takao about Ayumi's death, he got a panic attack and fainted. We took my little man to a bunch of therapists, but it didn't seem to help. Eventually, we just learned to avoid mentioning anything to do with Ayumi or her murderers…"

Kai sighed. "So you're saying that Takao's been this way since his mother's death? There's no cure?"

The old man shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Kai-dude. And now that the Kielbasa have resurfaced, it's likely that his panic attacks will become more frequent, like they were before…"

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Okay, done!

Leave a review, yeah?


	4. Chapter 4

IY: I'm tired, in no mood to be witty...

Kit: But you're in the mood to be bitchy!

IY: -glare-

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Thanks to: **KrymsonDranzer, Niezapomniana, misty144, Missin'Nin **(LOL I like that show!)**, takuya, wind-master-redmoon, C.Z.G. **(I'm sorry, but Hiro will be MIA for another few chaps.)**, Firehedgehog, **and **crystalbladedragon. **

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**Disclaimer:** Don't own!

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"What are you doing out here at this hour, Kinomiya?"

Takao jumped, startled out of his peaceful stargazing.

He turned to see his team captain standing at the door to the back porch. The two-toned teen was holding out a digital watch that read _1:03 a.m._ in a neon red hue.

"Oh, hey Kai! Sorry, I didn't realize it was so late… I just came out here 'cause I couldn't sleep. I don't know why, but I feel like I've been sleeping all day."

Kai rolled his eyes. What he wouldn't give to be able to tell the oblivious bluenette that he felt that way because he _had_ been sleeping all day. He was sure the younger blader's face would be hilarious.

"Well, you'd better be rested for tomorrow, Kinomiya. We're having training for twice as long as usual."

Takao's eyes widened. "What?! _Why_?" he whined pitifully.

"Because today you decided to fai-" Kai sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind why. Just know that we are."

Kai turned to go, but Takao reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"No, wait. What were you going to say?" he asked, tilting his head so that he could see his captain better. Kai was taller than him when he was standing; when he was sitting, the Russian seemed huge.

Kai made the horrible mistake of looking down to meet Takao's questioning gaze. _Crap!_ he thought, feeling an intense blush coming on. _Look away, man, just __**look **__**away!**_

But he already knew that was impossible. _He just looks so… cute._ Immediately after, Kai felt like slapping himself. _I did __**not**_ _just think that._

"Kai?" Takao asked, blinking innocently. "Is something wrong?"

The ruby-eyed teen shook his head, frowning minutely. "No, I'm fine." Looking at the younger teen's curious face again, he sighed. "Scoot over, Kinomiya."

Takao smiled and slid over, making room for his captain on the porch step he was sitting on.

"Today, before you even started practice, you fainted."

Takao gasped, "What? I don't remember that! Did I hit my head? What happened? Why did I faint?"

Kai rolled his eyes again. "Slow down, Kinomiya. I can't answer questions I don't understand."

Takao smiled sheepishly. "Right. Sorry!"

Kai nodded, making a gesture with his hand for the other teen to start over.

"So… Why did I faint?"

The dual-haired teen blew out his breath in a gusty sigh. "I should've known you'd start with that question…"

Shaking his head, the team captain said blandly, "You fainted because of a package you received." Sucking in a deep breath, Kai continued, "It was from the Kielbasa."

Kai waited for the inevitable panic attack, but to his surprise it didn't come. Takao merely blanched and curled into himself, creating a little ball of quivering flesh.

"Kinomiya? Are you okay?"

The blue-haired teen slowly uncoiled himself, nodding weakly. "Y-yeah. I'm fine, don't worry 'bout me. You just surprised me with the name, that's all…"

_What's going on? Why hasn't he fainted yet? Not that I want him to, or anything, of course!_ Kai hastily assured himself. _It's just strange that he **hasn't**, I guess… I thought Grandpa said he fainted every time the Kielbasa were mentioned…_

Kai thought back to the previous two fainting spells Takao went through. _But he didn't faint immediately after reading the letter the first time… He only collapsed after Tachibana mentioned his mother… _

_And later, in his room, he was fine when I asked him what he knew about them… But he fainted once I **mentioned his mother.**_

Eyes widening fractionally at his discovery, Kai stood abruptly, clearing his throat.

"Well, don't worry about them; they're not important right now, Kinomiya. What _is _important is training. Get to bed or you'll be tired tomorrow at practice."

He held open the door and waited until Takao walked inside, proceeding to latch the screen door securely and then locking the inner door with the rarely-used deadbolt.

_I've got to tell everyone that the key to his panic attacks is his mother. That way, they'll know to avoid mentioning her…_

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"Ugh!" Takao grunted miserably, plopping down on one of the kitchen chairs. "That was the longest training session _ever_!" he whined loudly and then slumped over, resting his head on his arms.

Kyouju tsked, sitting on the chair to his right. "No, it wasn't, Takao! What was the longest time we've trained, Dizzy?" he asked, focusing on the laptop set before him on the table.

"That would be twelve hours, Chief!" Dizzara answered perkily. "It happened when we were training for worlds."

The small brunette nodded. "Thanks, Dizzy." He turned to his friend, but since Takao had his head buried, he only spoke to his blue hair. "See, Takao? We only trained for three-quarters of that period this fine day."

Takao raised his head and looked at the short teen blankly.

"He means that we only trained for nine hours, Takao," Rei said, chuckling as he slid into the chair to Takao's left.

The bluenette's face cleared. "Oh! Well, why didn't you just say so, Kyouju?"

Kyouju's face was a perfect deadpan. "I did."

"Anyway!" Max interrupted, sitting across from the bluenette. "What are we gonna do now? I'm bored!"

"Yeah!" Daichi and Hilary cried together, glaring at each other afterwards. They held their eye contact as they sat on either sat of the blond, making him sweatdrop.

"Why don't we go to the movies?" Takao suggested, looking around at his teammates.

When he saw that everyone was nodding eagerly (they were willing to do anything to relieve their boredom), he turned to the most important person: their captain.

"So, how 'bout it, Kai? Are you coming?"

"Hn." Kai replied in his usual stoic, anti-social manner, but nodded after a second of thought. _There's really nothing to do here but train, and they're all tired already…_

At his response, Takao and Max jumped out of their chairs, giving each other high-fives. Daichi whooped happily, hopping around excitedly, and everyone else just grinned, although Hilary put in, "I don't see why _he_ gets to be the deciding factor!"

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After twenty minutes of frantic rushing around, everyone was ready to leave.

Well, _almost_ everyone.

"Hilary!" Takao yelled, waiting for her "What!" before continuing, "Hurry up or we're leaving without you!"

The sound of stomping feet was heard and then Hilary materialized in the living room doorway.

"Geez, give a girl a break! I can't even go to the restroom to freshen up without all of you breathing down my neck!" she huffed irritably.

"You were in there for _twenty_ minutes, Tachibana. What, did you decide to give yourself a complete makeover?" Kai asked, sneering at her.

"Yeah, Hilary!" Max piped up cheerily. "We're lucky that there's a second bathroom upstairs, or we would've never gotten outta the dojo!"

Daichi snickered, "Man, you can take all the time you want, old hag, but you'll still be ugly!"

Hilary's face blazed red and her hands curled into claws. "Why you little-"

When he saw Hilary rush at him, the little red-haired teen let out a high-pitched "Eep!" and dashed behind Kai.

Hilary stopped short, glaring murderously at the team captain, even though he hadn't actually done anything to help Daichi.

Rei rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. "We're going to miss all the screenings if you guys keep this up."

Kyouju nodded, "How long do we have until the seven o'clock screening, Dizzy?"

"Exactly forty-three minutes, Chief!" Dizzara replied promptly. "You better get a move on if you want to make it!"

Kai stood up straight. "All right, let's go. We've wasted enough time already."

At his order, everyone trooped to the front door, Kai following behind the herd in order to prevent them from coming back inside.

Takao was in the lead, along with Max, happily discussing which movie they should see.

"I don't know, Maxie, I saw the previews for that one a few days ago and it didn't look that goo-"

Daichi interrupted by pointing and exclaiming loudly, "Hey, what's that?"

Their collective gazes followed his finger and landed on a cardboard box that sat innocently on the porch swing.

Seeing that everyone was a little wary of approaching the parcel, Kai rolled his eyes and stepped forward from his place at the back of the crowd.

Striding over to the box confidently, he looked it over and saw a shipping label on one corner of the box, with no return address.

"It's for you, Kinomiya."

XxX

Oooh! What could it be?

Haha, you'll have to wait to find out.

Review, please?


	5. Chapter 5

IY: Hey all!

Kit: Yo.

IY: So sorry this chapter took so long! It was actually done since last Friday, but I didn't have an Internet connection all week...

Well, actually I did, but it was my sister's computer and I lost my flash drive/usb thingy. Haha... Funny, right?

**silence**

IY: -sweatdrop-

XxX

Thanks to: **crystalbladedragon, takuya, wind-master-redmoon, cheats, anna, **and **Angsty Glowstick!**

XxX

**Disclaimer**: Don't own!

XxX

Takao gulped, pulling on a strand of his long hair nervously. "For me? Are you sure? Who's it from?"

The two-toned teen sighed, used to the bluenette's rapid-fire questions by now. "Yes, I'm perfectly sure it's for you, Kinomiya. There's no return address, so I can't tell you who it's from."

Biting his lip, Takao stepped forward to accept the box from Kai's outstretched arms. The others moved a bit closer as well, forming a loose semicircle around him, offering their silent support through their renewed closeness.

Takao set the parcel down gently on the porch floor, slowly lowering himself to a kneeling position next to it. He pulled at the flaps apprehensively, breaking the tape that held the package closed during delivery.

With a shaky inhale of air, the bluenette tipped the box over, causing its contents to spill out across the wooden flooring.

"Oh, thank kami-sama." Takao breathed out, intensely relieved.

"What? What?! Who's it from?" Max cried out, unable to stand the suspense any longer.

The blue-haired teen grinned at his blond friend. "It's just a package from Hiro, Maxie!"

Daichi sank to the floor, shoulders slumped. "Man. All that drama and suspense… For a little package from Hiro!"

Hilary frowned, smacking the red-haired boy across the head to show her displeasure at his comment. "You should be happy that it's just that, Daichi!"

"Yes, it's great that you finally received the package you were expecting from your brother, Takao." Rei said, clapping the relieved teen on the shoulder.

"It took quite a while to arrive, didn't it?" Kyouju supplied, frowning thoughtfully. "Hiro told you about it almost a month ago…"

"Yeah…" Takao said, nodding absently while he perused the short letter he'd found in the small heap of things that spilled out of his box.

"So, what does it say, Kinomiya? Is it important enough to miss our movie for?" Kai finally asked, glancing pointedly at his watch.

They now had twenty-seven minutes to get to the movie theater, buy their entry tickets, _and_ buy the heap of junk food that his team always insisted on getting. It didn't matter how many times he told them of the damage they were inflicting on their bodies when they ate it; they still did it anyway.

_I always got the last laugh, though_, Kai thought casually, smirking inwardly while his face remained stoic on the outside.

While his team _thought_ they got away with ignoring his speeches, he always made them practice more intensely the day after their snub. …Starting with a five mile jog. (Insert evil, smug smirk here)

"Oh, sorry guys! I completely forgot about the movies!" Takao piped up, smiling sheepishly at them.

"I figured as much, Kinomiya," the team captain said, rolling his eyes with slight annoyance. "Now, does your letter contain important news that involves the team, or not?"

The bluenette looked indecisive. "Well, it does, sort of… But I don't really want to miss going to the movie theater, so… I'm sure the news can wait until we get back!"

Hilary heaved an exasperated sigh. "Honestly, Takao!" she exclaimed fondly, "You are so selfish sometimes."

Daichi, Max, Rei and Kyouju looked at her with disbelief shining clearly in their eyes. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…

"Here," the brunette girl continued, snatching the letter from Takao's grasp, "I'll read it out loud. That way we can decide if it's important enough as a team."

Hilary cleared her throat dramatically, then started reading.

_Dear little brother (otherwise known as Takao-chan),_

_I have good news: Dad has finally decided to settle down for a while (and no, he's not sick this time). As a favor to an old friend of his (a retired archeologist), he has taken on a job as a research specialist in SCC, and therefore has to stick around here for at least the first semester in fear of a breach of contract._

_What does this mean to you, you ask? _

_Well, a whole four months of your father. I know it's been quite a while since you last saw him, and although you might not say it, I know you miss him. Therefore, I've included enough airplane tickets to get you and all of your team here. Consider it you birthday present, pipsqueak. (Don't be asking for anything else, 'cause you won't get it!)_

_With love,_

_Your wonderful, caring, gorgeous nii-chan,_

_Hiro_

"He forgot egotistic on that list," Takao snorted. Out loud, Hiro's closing words sounded even more arrogant than they did when he read them to himself silently.

Kai mimicked the bluenette's sound of derision. "I'm just surprised you know what 'egotistic' means, Kinomiya."

Takao glared indignantly at his team captain for a second, but then ruined the image by sticking out his tongue and blowing a loud raspberry.

The two-toned teen narrowed his eyes. "Keep that tongue in your mouth unless you want me to put it to… better use, Kinomiya."

Rei chuckled at Takao's slightly frightened visage.

"Anyway!" Hilary exclaimed, waving a hand in the air. "Let's get back on topic here, okay? What do we do with these tickets?"

Max smiled brightly. "I say we go! It'll be fun!"

Daichi jumped up and down energetically. "Yeah, yeah! We deserve a break!"

Kyouju tilted his head, considering. "I don't know… What about training? And do we even know where we're going?"

Rei nodded. "Good points, Kyouju. Although I think I can answer one of your questions," he said, reaching down for one of the airplane tickets. "It says here that we're booked for Boston, Massachusetts…"

Hilary furrowed her brow, book smarts kicking in. "Massachusetts… That's a state in America, right?" she asked, directing her question at Kyouju, who nodded in affirmative.

"Hey, I've been there before!" Max uttered excitedly. "My mom took me with her on one of her work trips. And I know that there's a Beyblade training facility there for sure - I've used it!"

Kyouju smiled. "Well, then! I don't see any reason we shouldn't go-"

"We won't be in Boston, though," Takao interrupted the small brunette morosely.

Daichi blinked at him. "Huh? Why not?"

The bluenette chuckled dryly. "Because we'll be in Salerno." 1

"Care to explain, Kinomiya?" Kai drawled calmly, not betraying his inner curiosity at the bluenette's response.

"Not really, but I will anyway," Takao replied in a blasé manner.

He sighed, rolling his shoulders to ease some of the tension that was stocked up there, then deigned to give them their explanation.

"Salerno… Is the city where I grew up. I lived there until I was six, at which time I came here to live with Gramps.

"More likely than not, we're gonna stay at my house, while my dad and Hiro stay at the summerhouse." Spotting the team's questioning gazes, Takao added, "It's closer to the college."

There was a collective "oh."

"Hey, why do you call it 'your' house, Takao?" Hilary asked, a touch apprehensively. The blue-haired boy seemed to have slipped into a bad mood, and she didn't want to be his convenient outlet.

"Because it is," Takao replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. "Since my parents were divorced, everything was left to me."

XxX

1 Salerno: capital city and port in Salerno Province, Campania Region, southern Italy. Population: 141,724. Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Can you guys guess why I chose that as the name for the city? It's not that hard if you think about it.

(Even though I wanted to make it hard... But then it would be hard for me to remember as well… U.U;)

Review, yes?


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